Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called on people to exercise “total caution” ahead of a partial relaxation of the country’s lockdown.
More than half of the country, about 23 million people, will start “phase one” of the strategy to ease nationwide social-distancing measures on Monday.
Restaurants and bars will be able to serve people outdoors, non-essential shops will be allowed to open and gatherings of up to 10 people will be permitted.
But, in places where the lockdown is loosened, people should “take precautions as if they were infected”, Sanchez said.
“The virus has not disappeared. It is still on the prowl,” Sanchez warned in a TV address on Saturday.
Spain’s number of coronavirus-related deaths jumped by 179 to 26,478 on Saturday, the lowest daily rise since mid-March.
The country has reported more than 220,000 coronavirus infections to date, the second-highest in the world after the US.
